Feb. 4, 2022 Hello Friends and Neighbors, We’re at a point in the 2022 session when bills begin to stall – or “die,” as some put it – because there isn’t enough support to move them forward. This can happen for several reasons. For instance, a bill may need more...

OLYMPIA… Republican senators have introduced a plan to rescue the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave insurance program and put it on stable footing through 2028, without increasing the premiums paid by Washington workers. “It was a shock to learn this enormously popular, pro-family program is in such dire financial...

Jan. 28, 2022 Hello Friends and Neighbors, If you had asked me Monday morning, I would have said the 11 bills I’d filed during the first two weeks of our session – the latest being an updated version of my emergency-powers reform – would be it. But after seeing the...

OLYMPIA… The list of major tax-relief proposals before the Legislature this year no longer belongs solely to Republicans, now that a member of the Senate’s Democratic majority is proposing a one-point drop in the state sales tax. Sen. Lynda Wilson, Republican leader on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, and...

Jan. 21, 2022 Hello Friends and Neighbors, This past week’s e-news mentioned how our 2022 session is limited to 60 days. The pace of a “short” session like this is faster, understandably, because the deadlines for acting on legislation come up sooner. The first of these “cutoff” dates is less...

Jan. 14, 2022 Hello Friends and Neighbors, I hope this finds you and your family well. The first week of our 2022 session ends today. Being that it’s an even-numbered year, this is a 60-day “short” session; the shorter length (compared to the 105 days allotted by the constitution in...

Session’s first week brings action on two proposals from 17th District senator OLYMPIA… Sen. Lynda Wilson says the state should stop charging people to park at Washington’s state parks and other public lands. Her Senate Bill 5608 would eliminate the annual $30 Discover Pass and the $10 single-day fee charged...

OLYMPIA… Republicans in the state Senate have introduced a comprehensive plan to reduce homeowners’ property taxes and manufacturers’ business taxes while preventing a state income tax, and repealing the new payroll tax on Washington workers. The Tax Relief and Reform Act of 2022 (Senate Bill 5769) supports one of the...

VANCOUVER… Today the state Economic Revenue and Forecast Council adopted this year’s final quarterly forecast of state-government revenue, which shows an increase of $898 million for the current two-year budget cycle and $965 million for the 2023-25 cycle. Sen. Lynda Wilson, who serves on the ERFC as Republican leader on...

Nov. 10, 2021 Hello Friends and Neighbors, I hope this finds you and your family well. It was good to see people from our legislative district take part in the recent Tax Structure Work Group meeting for our corner of the state. I had hoped there would be discussion about...